Weather Monitoring: Best Practices for Higher Quality Data

Remote weather stations—setup matters

At METER, we’ve installed thousands of remote weather stations and weather instruments over the years, so we’ve learned a lot about what to do and not to do during an installation. This article takes an in-depth look at seven basic steps you’ll want to think about as you set up your weather station in order to obtain the highest quality weather data.

Before you start: Make sure you’re using the right weather station

One important thing to remember is that to obtain high quality data, you’ll need to install the right weather station for your unique application. In this 20-minute webinar, research scientist, Dr. Doug Cobos explores which types of weather stations fit different types of applications. Find out:

• Why you should consider data quality vs. maintenance and measurement parameter combinations in your cost analysis
• 3-season vs. 4-season performance
• Which situations require low-, medium-, or high-grade solutions, and how high should you go?
• Pros and cons of different solutions
• How does thenbsp;ATMOS 41 weather station compare to other methods?
• Where is the sweet spot for performance divided by price in your application?

Watch it here: https://metergroup.com/webinars/weather-monitoring-101-which-weather-station-is-right-for-you/

Step 1: Pre-field testing prevents headaches

One often overlooked step to a good installation is testing your weather instruments before taking them to the field. It’s important to set your instrumentation up before you leave so you know everything is functioning and you have all the tools you’ll need. You can test your equipment at the office, in your yard, or even at a nearby park. Get all your mounting hardware together, and make sure all the weather instruments and sensors are functioning.

If you have a battery-powered system and a solar panel, check to see if they are charging. Ensure your data acquisition system is working. If using a programmable data logger like a Campbell Scientific logger, make sure you understand how to program it. Test the logger program to ensure it is functioning correctly and recording. Many data acquisition backbones now have remote data delivery, so check that data are flowing into the server and you’re able to access those data.

Read the full article: https://metergroup.com/expertise-library/remote-weather-stations-weather-instruments-best-practices-for-higher-quality-data/